Bedside
by spockandawe
Summary: He knew a politician made enemies, but Tarrlok wasn't prepared for the attack when it came.


There was a request made on the Korrlok tag on Tumblr for something of this sort, so I wrote a thing and drew a thing. My indifferent art skills can be seen through the link below.

spockandawe dot tumblr dot com slash post/41406919927/bedside

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A politician made enemies. That had been a fact of Tarrlok's life for years, but it had never been a _problem_ before now. The council was so unspeakably civilized that he couldn't even imagine a fight breaking out during work, and he'd always been a strong enough bender that he didn't have to worry about violence on the streets. For years, he'd been secure in the knowledge that he was one of the most skilled benders in Republic City.

The council meeting had run hours late, and he didn't heave for home until long after the sun had set. The streets weren't entirely empty, but there weren't many other people out at this hour. It took him a while to realize he was being followed, and at first he was more amused than worried. He took a turn toward the river and picked up the pace. In a few blocks he'd have all the water he could ever need. This would be a nice break after spending the whole day sitting and talking, and Korra should have dinner waiting for him by the time he got home.

The person following him was joined by another, then more and more. They poured out of doors and narrow alleys, moving to close the gap between him and them. He broke into a run, but he could already feel all the bodies ahead. He'd never reach the river. Tarrlok pulled all the water he could find from the nearby apartments, the fog, even the little weeds growing through the cobblestones. He put his back against a wall and took a defensive stance. When these thugs saw just what they were dealing with, they'd have second thoughts.

He'd thought it had worked. The men stopped at a careful distance, edging sideways without drawing any closer and whispering nervously to each other. They held wooden planks and lengths of pipe, but that would never compare to a trained waterbender. Perfect. He allowed himself a little smile. But he'd never expected the stone of the wall to stretch out and capture his hands. His water fell to the ground as he struggle to free himself, but it was hopeless. The rock broke away from the wall and he fell to his knees, his hands still completely trapped. He could hear them coming closer. Laughing. He curled himself into a tight ball, and then the first blow fell.

There were threats. Demands. He couldn't listen, only do his best to protect his head and pray for it to be over. It felt like hours before they finally left. He stayed where he was, tensed for the next strike, hardly able to understand what the fading footsteps meant. When he opened his eyes there was blood on the street. He tried to call for help, but his voice came out as a croak. Stand. He had to stand. For a moment he thought he could do it, but then his legs collapsed and he fell back to the ground. That was the last thing he remembered.

When his eyes opened, he was in an unfamiliar room. Everything hurt too much to move. Tarrlok tried to breathe shallowly and ignore the way his chest ached. Where was he? Surely those men hadn't come _back_ for him? He was just beginning to panic when he felt a small movement against his side and jumped. When he saw who it was, he sighed with relief. Wherever this was, he was safe.

"Korra," he whispered to the sleeping girl. "Korra?" She was sitting on a stool next to him, but she'd slumped forward onto the bed with one arm laying across his chest. She didn't move as he spoke, but he managed to reach up with one arm to carefully stroke her hair. "Wake up, Korra."

Finally she yawned and stretched, sitting up and blinking blearily. When she looked down at him, her face lit up. "Tarrlok!" she cried, as she threw her arms around him.

He winced. "Careful!"

Korra pulled back immediately, but caught one of his hands in hers and held it tightly to her chest. He could have stayed like that for hours, but after a long moment she dropped his hand. Before he had time to miss her touch, she bent water out of a bowl on his bedside table and brought it down to his bruised chest. He could feel the pain fading away as the healing spread from her hands.

"Sorry, I was healing you before but I've been up for _hours_ and I thought just a little nap couldn't hurt..." Tarrlok laughed at that and she smiled back. They sat together for some time in silence as he watched her work, but abruptly her mouth twisted and as she met his gaze he could see her eyes were red. "I was so worried-!"

Tarrlok struggled to sit and reached up to gently touch her cheek. "I'm sorry." That made her laugh weakly, and she scolded him for apologizing as she eased him back down onto the pillow. She fussed around, arranging all the bedding to her satisfaction before taking a seat on her stool again. He began to drift off again, but this time the last thing he remembered was the feeling of Korra's lips pressed softly to his forehead.


End file.
